LDJ Auto Body and Mechanical's news is designed with the custom car, truck, and motorcycle enthusiast is mind. You'll find vehicle reviews, accessory reviews, and even clothing, t-shirts and more. See restoration projects and get tips from the pros on do-it-yourself projects. Links to the best priced accessories, the hottest trends, and highest quality auto and motorcycle parts and accessories.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Automotive Parts Supplier of the Month

Allen's Used Auto Parts of Tampa, FL!

"LDJ Auto Body News has gone through some major renovations in the past 30 days. We've added many great new concepts to our line-up to help our readers and those in our industry gain knowledge of things happening in our industry and we've added some exciting new regular features", said Dee Blackman, Senior Editor of the newsletter. "One of the things we are adding is our "Supplier of the Month" award that is given to auto parts and auto industry suppliers who go above and beyond the call of duty in their respective niche to provide a great experience for their customers. In an economy where everyone is affected by price, it's important that we give recognition to those that do their best to offset the ever increasing prices for both consumers and businesses, thus affecting the industry as a whole. We want to let people know that there are companies out there who go the extra nine yards to provide the best customer service while still keeping pricing at a minimum."

A big congratulations to Allen's Used Auto Parts of Tampa, FL for being named LDJ Auto Body's Car, Truck, and Motorcycle News' "Automotive Industry Auto Parts Supplier of the Month" for September, 2012.Located at 5509 E. Broadway in Tampa, FL, Allen's provides new, aftermarket and recycled parts for auto industry businesses and consumers alike. Their staff is friendly and knowledgeable and they keep a vast inventory of used parts. Their huge inventory of mechanical parts and body parts is well maintained and impeccably organized. "I have been doing body work for 40 yrs.", said Larry Blackman of LDJ Auto Body and Mechanical, Gibsonton, FL, "and I was extremely impressed by the organization of their parts inventory. In our business, it is key that the used body parts we buy for our customers are in good shape and Allen's is the first place we call when looking for used parts. They tell us when our order will be ready and we plan our job scheduling based on that time frame. If Allen's tells us our order will be ready for pick-up at a certain time...it is. That's as important to us as the price. Nothing is worse than having to tell a customer that their vehicle will be late because your supplier didn't deliver on time. That just doesn't happen at Allen's. These guys do great work and we depend on them."

In addition to their parts supply, Allen's also offers auto repair services like parts installation, tune-ups, oil changes, and more, all of which are reasonably priced and expertly done by their staff of knowledgeable mechanics. "It's a great place to do business and we even send our own customers there to buy their parts. There aren't many suppliers that I'll actually send my customers to," said Blackman, "When it comes to that, you have to really be the best. We don't make recommendations like that lightly. This is a competitive business and you have to be careful when you recommend someone to one of your own customers. There has to be an amount of trust there and that takes a lot of time to build. Allen's is one of those places."

EDITOR'S NOTE

Allen's Used Auto Parts of Tampa, FL is owned by Hoss who works the counter along wiht Dean, Brian, Mike, and Todd. This hard-working team of auto professionals assembled by Hoss will provide you with a great customer experience. Whether you are an automotive industry business owner or just the owner of your favorite vehicle, you owe it to yourself to give Allen's Used Auto Parts of Tampa, FL a try. We highly recommend them for all your auto parts and service needs. Give Hoss a call today....we promise you won't be disappointed. Tell em Dee sent you!

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

We are thrilled to welcome Mr. Don Eflrink of AutoMatStore.com as our newest contributing author here at LDJ Auto Body's Car, Truck, and Motorcycle News. Don has done several guest posts for us in the past and had such a great response from all of our readers that he is going to be a regular here at LDJ Auto News.

For those of you who don't know Don, here's a short bio to bring you all up to speed as to Don's expertise in the automotive industry. We are looking forward to some great upcoming articles from Don Elfrink and welcome him to the new team here at LDJ Auto News. We'll be running new articles by Don regularly, so be sure to register now so you don't miss any of the great info Don Elfrink has to offer and be sure to stop by his website at www.AutoMatStore.com for some great deals too!

I’m no stranger to owning my
own business – I’ve operated several over the past three decades. I’ve owned
everything from a vending business (which wasn’t one of my best decisions, by
the way), to an expedited delivery business, a trucking business, a
manufacturing business and, today, an ecommerce website. I’ve also been
involved in entrepreneurial enterprises since college. You might say it runs in
my family.

Getting Off to a Good Start

I actually left college
after completing my junior year at the University of Missouri in St. Louis so
that I could go to work in our family business. We operated an LTL (less than
truckload) trucking business in the greater St. Louis area. I learned the ropes
and honed my skills in St. Louis, and then made the move to Columbia, Missouri,
where I opened and ran a terminal that served the central part of the state.

Perhaps the greatest
strength of our trucking business was our ability to deliver overnight to
destinations as far away as 400 miles, which was unheard of in the industry.
However, even with our excellent service, we were limited by the geographic
area we served. To supplement our trucking service, I started an expedited
business, which gave us a greater serviceable area and more profitability.
Unfortunately, four years after I moved to Columbia, the family trucking
business was sold. Like they say, though, when one door closes, another opens.
That’s when I expanded my expedited business to include truckload services and
began doing business with clients across the country.

Entering the Automotive
Industry

Really, it was my time spent
in the trucking business that helped me get involved in the automotive world.
One day, I visited a client that manufactured automotive floor mats. One of his
designs really caught my eye – it was manufactured for a full-size van, and
covered both front floorboards, as well as the area between the seats. I saw
immediately how it would benefit truck drivers, so I asked my client if he had
floor mats that would fit 18-wheelers. He said no, but that if I could provide
templates and patterns, he could make them for me. They were a huge hit with
truck stops, trucking companies and truck manufacturers, and after a few years,
I actually bought the floor mat plant from the original owner. I was now in the
automotive industry.

Finding My Own Success

There are many different
aspects to owning a manufacturing business, but one in particular helped me
establish my current business, AutoMatStore.com. In the manufacturing process,
we created an inventory of overruns, returns and obsolete products we had a
hard time finding a market for. However, with the advent of the Internet,
especially sites like eBay, we were able to address that issue.

That was when I realized the
potential of the Internet. I sold the manufacturing business about seven years
ago so I could start up an Internet ecommerce site focused on automotive floor
mats. We decided from the beginning that customer service was going to be the
difference between our company and our competitors, and it provided to be the
lynchpin of our success. With our emphasis on customer service, we have
realized an astounding growth of between 15 and 20% every year for the past
five years, during a time when the auto industry was suffering one of its worst
slumps in history.

Forward to the Future

Of course, we’re not content
to rest on our laurels. Our plan for the future is to create similar ecommerce
sites that focus on either a specific type of item, a specific vehicle or a
specific vehicle type. That specific focus and our drive to provide outstanding
customer service will help us stand out in the market.

Don Elfrink is the owner and
operator ofAutoMatStore, an auto floor mat company based out of
Columbia, Missouri. Before AutoMatStore.com, Elfrink was the operator of a
company that produced automotive accessories. AutoMatStore.com focuses on
all-weather, logo, carpeted and molded car mats.